[No earlier than the second half of April 1902 — no later than April 1903]1

a.
[SUMMARY AND EXTRACTS FROM BRASE'S ARTICLE "INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE INFLUENCE OF INDEBTEDNESS OF RURAL PROPERTIES UPON THEIR MANAGEMENT"]

Thiel's Yearbooks. Vol. 28 (1899).
Dr. Brase. Investigations into the Influence of Indebtedness of Rural Properties upon Their Management. (pp. 253–310).

[There were] investigated landlord [estates] (17) and peasant (34) farms "in one district of the Liegnitz administrative region" (Lower Silesia).

The author provides a list of all these farms, but without summary figures. 17 landlords, 75–924 hectares each (9: 200–500 ha; 1 <100 ha, namely 75, 1 — 127 ha; 1 — 924; 1 — 819).

For each farm [information is given only on] the amount of hectares (and by type of land), quantity of livestock, estimated value and indebtedness ("according to the 1896 survey").

Of the 17 [landlords] completely unindebted (204 and 333 ha); 2 over 100% of value (105 and 104%); 1 — 90–100%; 3 — 80–90%; 2 — 70–80%; 2: 60–70%; 1: 50–60%; 2 — 40–50%; 1: 30–40%.

Of the peasants, 5 [were] unindebted.
1 — 7 ha
7 — 10–20 ha
2 — up to 10% of estimated value; [the rest] — 20–110 ha
5 — 10–20 [%]
7 — 20–30
3 — 30–40
5 — 40–50
3 — 50–60
3 — 60–70
1 — 70–80

The author considers "unindebted": 1) without mortgage debts on the land register; 2) those having mortgage debts but also capital no less [than the debt]; 3) with negligible indebtedness (p. 262–3).

Detailed description of farms (landlord farms designated by small Latin letters: a–g)

a) 205 ha. Exemplary farm: (8 horses + 14 oxen + 106 head of cattle) "Jewel" of the district. (Indebtedness = 87% of value). Very high yields, high culture. "The soil was only gradually brought to this state through systematic drainage, abundant manuring, deep loosening and careful treatment of the arable land through neat, timely cultivation, drill and ridge culture" (p. 264).

Buildings all solid — "immense capital is fixed here." "All livestock without exception is strongly nourished."

All manner of machines. System of crop rotation is rational, manuring very strong (manure and — artificial fertilizer).

"Expenditure on expensive new buildings absorbs all rent."

b) 301 ha; indebtedness 46.3%.

Land improved by long-term cultivation, cleared of stones, etc., large quantities of lime added.

Buildings good, all solid, cost 170,000 marks.

All livestock (10 horses + 26 oxen + 100 head of cattle + 400 sheep) is rationally fed and maintained.

All manner of machines (enumeration not given).

Manure well preserved. Artificial fertilizer purchased.

Ploughing 17–20 cm (beets: 30–35 cm). Drill culture.

c) 758 ha. (Livestock: 26 horses + 54 oxen + 220 head of cattle + 900 sheep). Indebtedness = 76.9% of value. Like a and b, — c too is a model farm.

Land, buildings, livestock — very good. Machines.

"Stable manure is conserved in the best manner." Purchased: 20,000 kg Chilean nitrate + 30,000 ammonia superphosphate + 3–4,000 kg kainite.

Deep ploughing; drill; meadow irrigation; yields very rich.

d, e, f — not exemplary, but "rational."

d) (75 ha) systematically drained. Strong manuring. Artificial fertilizer. Deep ploughing. Drill and ridge culture.

e) (229 ha). Drainage begun. Buildings solid, partly new. Livestock well fed. Artificial fertilizer (10,000 kg Chilean nitrate; 25,000 superphosphate; 50,000 kg potassium salts + lime).

Ploughing 12–17 cm, potatoes 20–25 cm, for beets even deeper.

f: drained. Deep ploughing, etc. "For buildings and their maintenance rather too much than too little is done" (p. 272).

Livestock feed very good. 8 liters milk per day per cow.

Artificial fertilizer at 5,000–6,000 marks per year (15,000 kg Chilean nitrate, 30–40,000 superphosphate, 50,000 kg kainite).

g (819 ha). Buildings good. Stables partly new. Drained.

Milk — 3,000 liters per cow (annually).

All livestock of better quality. Feed good.

Artificial fertilizer. Machines. Deep ploughing.

h (693 ha) — drainage. Good manuring. Buildings solid, partly new.

Livestock well fed. Concentrated feed purchased.

Artificial fertilizer. Deep ploughing.

i (527 ha). Buildings solid, in good condition. Livestock well fed. Machines. Deep ploughing. Artificial fertilizer.

k (445 ha). (95.7% indebtedness). Farm managed "simply." Buildings "dilapidated," straw roofs.

Deep ploughing 12–17 cm. Drill culture.

Proprietor lives very modestly.

Neither artificial fertilizer nor concentrated feed purchased. Horses exhausted (despite vigorous feeding).

l (347 ha). 42.3% indebtedness. (Drill introduced, artificial fertilizer used, concentrated feed purchased, steam machines introduced, but result was negative).

Return to "extensive" farming: artificial fertilizer and feed purchased "as little as only possible."

Livestock fed more simply. 5 liters milk per day per cow.

m (924 ha, 750 ha forest). Chiefly forest economy. Farm simple, cheap.

n (572 ha) {very heavily indebted}. Unfavorable conditions. Drainage from 1872 in decay. New — no funds. Paid too much for the land.

Buildings all solid, but house for laborers — "old clay hut" and "straw roof." Machines present, some useless, shortage of feed, poor soil — in general, all poor.

o (281 ha). New stables. 6–8 liters per day milk.

Artificial fertilizer. Livestock fed intensively.

"Manure comes from intensively fed livestock; it remains lying in the stable in manure trenches until the moment of its removal to the field and is rationally conserved by means of kainite and superphosphate. For bedding, only rye or wheat straw is used and no longer, as before, forest litter, heather and other leaves" (pp. 286–7).

Ploughing 17–20 cm. Drill culture.

p (127 ha). Purchased too expensively. Indebtedness 57%.

New proprietor buys more artificial fertilizer and concentrated feed, better machines, etc.

q (201 ha) (for such land the farm is managed too expensively: "luxury estate," "technically the best is performed, but not economically").

Buildings solid, stables "with vaults and arranged for manure storage." Concentrated feed purchased.

Machines — rather an excess.

Farm intensive. Artificial fertilizer
kilo
120,000 kainite
35–40,000 Thomas slag
5,000 superphosphate
5,000 ammonia
2,500 Chilean nitrate

r (333 ha). Buildings solid.

"Stables without vaults, maintained economically."

Laborers' dwellings new.

Dead inventory modest. Ploughing 12–17 cm. Meadow irrigation.

Peasant farms are not listed individually.

"The large and medium peasants, as a rule, farm better, more intensively, than small peasants, the largest of the tiniest (market gardeners) and holders of dwarf plots" (p. 292):

deeper ploughing (cows weak)
Drill culture
artificial fertilizers and concentrated feed purchased.

"If, finally, the harvest yields of peasant farms lag behind those of most landlord estates, this depends above all on the peculiarity of small and medium landownership. The peasant ploughs 5 or 8 centimeters more shallowly, sparing his young horses, which he wishes to sell at a profit. Generally, he knows how to preserve his livestock incomparably better than hired laborers are accustomed to do. He cannot acquire special implements for each individual purpose, improve cultivation methods infinitely, conduct lasting experiments on manuring and cultivation and much else besides" (p. 292).

The peasant strives to farm better, introducing artificial fertilizer and concentrated feed, machines.

"The peasant has long been convinced of the importance of deep and timely soil cultivation, of the correct selection of valuable seed varieties, preservation of stable manure and much the like. If he does not now eliminate deficiencies that are remediable, and thus acts contrary to his conviction or is forced to do so, then as a rule he lacks sufficient capital for this" (p. 293).

Buildings "almost everywhere" solid and in good condition. Livestock well fed.

This is the first group of peasant farms, ½ ("south of the county town") out of 34 (Nos. 1–11 and No. 18) [No. 18 = 110 ha]

Second group 22 ("to the north") out of 34 (of these 22: four 10–20 ha; eleven 20–50 ha; seven 50–95 ha). Land "wet sand, suffers from stagnant moisture." Ploughing 10–13 cm.

"A wooden primitive plow is drawn by a small worn-out horse or a weak, half-starved cow team." (p. 296).

"Excessive grain cultivation... short straw, thin stems, empty ears and flat kernels... One generally keeps more livestock than the meager fodder stores warrant. There is often a lack of fodder and bedding... In winter this abundance of livestock is fed barely adequately with straw, chaff, sweepings, little root crop and sour hay. The feed is at all times meager and of poor quality, the iron-rich drinking water in several places injurious to health. Consequently, the livestock is small, thin, and rough-haired, if not wasted and starving in a narrow, dark stall. Therefore, one cannot demand proper use of it, nor expect much and strong manure.

"Manuring is done for every crop, but homeopathic[ally]. These weak and insufficient manurings cannot be supplemented by the purchase of kainite... One cannot reasonably demand feats of strength from a sick man. Apart from the necessary means, there would be a lack of guidance and experience. The peasant never uses lime, green manuring only in isolated cases... (p. 297). Field cultivation is incomparably simple and yet burdensome; the brought-in manure is spread, 2/3 or 3/4 of the seed is sown by hand, then ploughed, and then the remaining 1/3 or 1/4 of the seed is sown on top and harrowed with a self-made harrow. Rye is tilled periodically, gradually, owing to lack of necessary manure. Seed exchange would surely pay; this and other things do not happen for lack of capital. The peasant systematically avoids everything that costs money if he is to continue existing. He threshes his grain in the old-fashioned way with the flail, throwing by hand or sifting out all the chaff. Some better-situated proprietors have recently acquired a small horse-powered threshing machine. The straw is reckoned, above all, as a fodder, whereas it would be more needed (chiefly) as litter for the animals. Now cut chaff must be made, potato or beet piles must be covered with straw, the deteriorated straw roof must be repaired, the little hay, to make it last as long as possible, must be mixed with straw, so that for litter with poor straw harvests nothing or very little is left over. Thus it comes about that the customary use of forest litter has become the rule. Chopped litter is no longer available, only pine needles, which one usually collects annually from the forest floor. This in turn has the consequence that the few pines growing on the poor, plundered sand thrive even worse, and that despite extensive forests there is a shortage of timber for buildings when, finally, decrepit structures, patched countless times, threaten complete collapse. Even the more capital-rich proprietors cannot build anew: there is a lack of fieldstone, gravel, clay, timber, and finally and especially money... Everything is in short supply. The pitiable farmer in this sad region toils and strains with his often large family from early morning to late evening, day after day; his callused hand and thin face testify only to heavy and ceaseless labor. He struggles for his not enviable existence, fights with sorrow and care and ekes out his life; he exerts himself with all his might to raise, for as long as possible, the interest and taxes due, and fears he must finally go under. For thoroughgoing improvements there are no means whatever; they alone would be able to help and lead to such naturally poor land becoming surely productive and able to support its owner better" (p. 298).

— "a gratifying exception from these 22 holdings in group 2 is only the village elder's estate in R." (No. 18: 110 ha, 43 head of cattle, 4 swine + 6 horses, debt = 50.3%, higher indebtedness only among 3 peasants of these 22).

"Mr. R. harvests on average grain 2–3 times, potatoes 3–4 times, beets 6–8 times as much as all other proprietors in R., who farm in the old style and who, owing to their debt relations, cannot and must not proceed differently. Mr. R. cultivates crops which his neighbors cannot successfully introduce into their rotation because their soil lacks the necessary cultivation and manuring conditions... He (Mr. R.) paid cash for his property and has capital at his disposal. Capital and labor have produced such fine results. The same peasant would never have been able to create an 'oasis in the desert' if, with all his efforts, he had lacked financial support as an unconditional prerequisite" (p. 300).

He has — "dry sand" "gradually brought into cultivation (green manuring). Kainite and the like he uses "on a large scale," ... conducts drill culture, ... no shortage of straw, new livestock stalls,... various machines... Livestock vigorously nourished....... The stall is advantageously arranged, spacious and bright...........The livestock has clean and dry bedding (p. 299) etc. — provides much and strong manure, etc., etc.

Maintains laborers...

(At the conclusion the author argues vigorously against the notion that debts contribute to better farming. On the contrary, debts oppress, etc. Capital is needed for farming; examples of wealthy peasants with capital, merchants, a former policeman, etc. and so forth).

Harvest yields in kilograms per hectare:
Wheat/Rye/Barley/Oats/Potatoes/Fodder beets
Among landlords: 1,000–2,800/600–2,200/1,200–3,000/600–2,800/10–50 thousand/20–80 thousand
Among peasants: 400–1,800/300–1,400/250–2,000/450–1,800/7½–14 thousand/4–52 thousand

b.
[BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES AND ANNOTATIONS ON BOOKS]

Dr. Michael Hainisch: "The Future of the German-Austrians." A Statistical-Economic Study. [Vienna 1892.] pp. 465.

There is, apparently, very little statistics proper here, but there is, it seems, something on the indebtedness of the peasantry and on the ruin of peasant farms under the influence of monetary economy: "Section IV" (pp. 114–153): "The Distress of the Peasant Estate, etc."

Dr. Carl von Grabmayr (Member of the Tyrolean Diet in Meran). Debt Distress and Agrarian Reform. An Agrarian-Political Sketch with Special Consideration of Tyrol's Situation. Meran 1894. (pp. 211).

General figures on the growth of indebtedness

Same author. Agrarian Reform in the Tyrolean Diet. Meran 1896. (pp. 157).

Statistische Monatsschrift. Vienna 1901, New Series, Vol. VI (27th volume of the entire series).

(Alfred Holder, Imperial and Royal Court and University Bookseller. Vienna. 1. Rothenthurmstrasse. 13).

In his same publishing house:

"Soziale Rundschau," edited by the Imperial and Royal Labor Statistics Office. Monthly; per year 2 crowns = 2 marks. Individual issues = 20 heller = 30 pfennigs.

1 The approximate date of the document is established on the following grounds. This document is written in a school notebook ("Exercise Book") of English origin. Lenin, in all probability, made these notes during his stay in London, that is, between the middle of April 1902 and May 1903.